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Along with the heat and mosquitoes at this year’s Country Thunder Saskatchewan festival, some country music fans and campers also had to deal with Saskatchewan RCMP officers.
Mounties said in a press release on July 13 that the festival weekend from July 9 to 13 was a “successful” one and police responded to 177 “calls for service”.
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People travelling to the Craven festival grounds were greeted with traffic check-stops on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings, with 42 drivers received roadside suspensions for consuming alcohol before driving and 12 drivers receiving the same penalty for using drugs before getting behind the wheel, police said. Two people were also charged for impaired driving.
RCMP said these traffic check-stop suspensions, conducted with the help of SGI, were included in the 177 “calls for service.”
Drivers were also faced with two extra Saskatchewan RCMP Traffic Services check-stops at entrances to the festival grounds, which checked more than 1,000 drivers, police said, without revealing if anyone was charged or suspended at these.
Police also said that 460 Traffic Safety Act tickets and written warnings were issued in and around the Craven area.
On the festival grounds, officers dealt with two reports of assault, one of which resulted in a criminal charge; 11 reports of mischief involving damage to or obstructing people’s enjoyment; five thefts of items valued at under $5,000, like coolers, lawn chairs, and booth merchandise booth); as well as 28 Alcohol and Gaming Regulation Act offences; and 23 complaints of people disturbing the peace or causing a disturbance.
RCMP had 156 callouts during the festival in 2025, where four people were charged with impaired driving, and 40 roadside driving suspensions were issued, and in 2024 RCMP said there were 147 calls.
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